MARCH MAD MOVIE MADNESS TOURNAMENT RECAP AND FINAL RANKINGS

And your winner, and “official” Weirdest Movie of All Time is…

We must say, readers showed tremendous taste and knowledge in voting throughout the entire tournament. We feared there might be significant recency bias towards films released in the late 2010s, but you guys really went for the deep cuts. There were some surprises—we didn’t expect to see Suspiria (1977) in the Freaky 4—but the final Eraserhead (1977) vs. The Holy Mountain (1973) matchup was exactly what we would have hoped for.

You can see the entire progress of the tournament (play-in rounds excepted) here.

We’re not going to count up the total number of votes cast during the tournament, but with 292 votes in the finals and 388 in the semifinals, we’d conservatively guess we tallied over 10,000 mouse clicks and mobile taps during the entire tournament (well over 1,000 votes were cast in the play-in rounds alone). That’s a pretty significant amount of data.

We can use that data to create a very unofficial ranking of the popularity of all 366 movies in our Canon. Of course, we realize this enterprise is silly and ultimately somewhat arbitrary—but people love to list things, organize and rank them, and then argue about the results. That human tendency is sort of the basis for this site’s very existence.

So, after awarding the winner and runner up, we placed each movie in the tier it was eliminated in, and then rank them by number of votes cast in their favor, breaking any ties by the movies’ initial seeding (which was itself determined by a combination of number of page visits to our site and  IMDB rankings). And here’s the way they turned out, ranked from #1 to #366 in reader preference (remembering that the “least popular” movie here is still more interesting than 90% of what’s currently playing at the cineplexes):

    1. Eraserhead
    2. Holy Mountain, The
    3. Suspiria
    4. Chien Andalou, Un
    5. Naked Lunch
    6. Tetsuo: The Iron Man
    7. 2001: A Space Odyssey
    8. Mulholland Drive
    9. House [Hausu]
    10. El Topo
    11. Under the Skin
    12. Possession
    13. Spirited Away
    14. Donnie Darko
    15. Repo Man
    16. Häxan [Witchcraft Through the Ages]
    17. Wild at Heart
    18. Repulsion
    19. City of Lost Children, The [La cité des enfants perdus]
    20. Akira
    21. Barton Fink
    22. INLAND EMPIRE
    23. Pink Flamingos
    24. Blue Velvet
    25. Dogtooth [Kynodontas]
    26. Dark City
    27. Santa Sangre
    28. Valerie and Her Week of Wonders
    29. Saragossa Manuscript, The
    30. Lobster, The
    31. Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, The
    32. Hourglass Sanatorium, The
    33. Videodrome
    34. Twelve Monkeys
    35. Paprika
    36. Stalker
    37. Being John Malkovich
    38. Night of the Hunter, The
    39. Persona
    40. Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory
    41. Brazil
    42. Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas
    43. Dead Alive
    44. Perfect Blue
    45. Belladonna of Sadness
    46. Freaks
    47. mother!
    48. Spider Baby
    49. Daisies [Sedmikrásky]
    50. Barbarella
    51. Meshes of the Afternoon
    52. Rubber
    53. Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me
    54. Don’t Look Now
    55. Bubba Ho-Tep
    56. Come and See
    57. The Woman in the Dunes
    58. Company of Wolves, The
    59. Goke, Body Snatcher from Hell
    60. Cook the Thief His Wife & Her Lover, The
    61. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
    62. Enter the Void
    63. Howl’s Moving Castle
    64. Exterminating Angel, The [El àngel exterminador]
    65. Pan’s Labyrinth
    66. 8 1/2
    67. The Wicker Man
    68. Fantastic Planet [La Planète Sauvage]
    69. Last Year at Marienbad [L’Année Dernière à Marienbad]
    70. Color of Pomegranates, The [Sayat Nova]
    71. Beauty and the Beast [La Belle et la Bete]
    72. Delicatessen
    73. Monty Python’s The Meaning of Life
    74. Alice [Neco Z Alenky]
    75. Liquid Sky
    76. Street of Crocodiles
    77. Escape from Tomorrow
    78. Pi
    79. Solaris [Solyaris]
    80. Run Lola Run
    81. Man Who Fell to Earth, The
    82. Belle de Jour
    83. Jacob’s Ladder
    84. Metropolis
    85. It’s Such a Beautiful Day
    86. Lair of the White Worm, The
    87. Enemy
    88. Lost Highway
    89. Dogville
    90. Devils, The
    91. Bronson
    92. Kung Fu Hustle
    93. Fight Club
    94. Antichrist
    95. Dead Man
    96. Dr. Caligari
    97. Love Witch, the
    98. Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the Eighth Dimension, The
    99. Performance
    100. Black Swan
    101. After Hours
    102. Akira Kurosawa’s Dreams
    103. Love Exposure
    104. Meet the Feebles
    105. WR: Mysteries of the Organism
    106. 3 Women
    107. Tekkonkinkreet
    108. Swiss Army Man
    109. Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie, The
    110. Vertigo
    111. Eyes Without a Face [Les Yeux sans Visage]
    112. Batman Returns
    113. Pink Floyd the Wall
    114. Teorema
    115. Synecdoche, New York
    116. Sans Soleil
    117. Rocky Horror Picture Show, The
    118. Adaptation.
    119. Trial, The
    120. Clockwork Orange, A
    121. Nosferatu
    122. Audition [Ôdishon]
    123. Weekend
    124. Orpheus
    125. Underground
    126. Scanner Darkly, A
    127. Glen or Glenda
    128. Funeral Parade of Roses [Bara no sôretsu]
    129. Altered States
    130. Fantasia
    131. Millennium Actress
    132. Yellow Submarine
    133. Vampyr
    134. Field in England, A
    135. Manos: The Hands of Fate
    136. That Obscure Object of Desire
    137. Tin Drum, The
    138. Schizopolis
    139. Scott Pilgrim vs. the World
    140. Lisztomania
    141. Boy and His Dog, A
    142. Funky Forest: The First Contact
    143. Little Otik [Otesánek]
    144. Neon Genesis Evangelion: The End of Evangelion
    145. Mandy
    146. Tree of Life, The
    147. Female Trouble
    148. Tideland
    149. 5,000 Fingers of Dr. T, The
    150. Taxidermia
    151. Phantasm
    152. Sin City
    153. Dance of Reality, The
    154. Gozu
    155. Amarcord
    156. Black Moon
    157. I’m A Cyborg, But That’s OK [Saibogujiman Kwenchana]
    158. Gummo
    159. Visitor Q
    160. Holy Motors
    161. Inherent Vice
    162. Kwaidan
    163. Forbidden Zone
    164. Begotten
    165. Zardoz
    166. Upstream Color
    167. The Swimmer
    168. Butcher Boy, The
    169. Beyond the Black Rainbow
    170. Head
    171. Mr. Nobody
    172. Carnival of Souls
    173. Natural Born Killers
    174. Desperate Living
    175. My Winnipeg
    176. Shock Corridor
    177. Mind Game
    178. Time Bandits
    179. Tenant, The
    180. O Lucky Man!
    181. Science of Sleep, The
    182. Blood of a Poet, The [Le sang d’un poète]
    183. Lure, The [Córki Dancingu]
    184. Vampire’s Kiss
    185. Cube
    186. L’Age d’Or
    187. Death Bed: The Bed That Eats
    188. 3-Iron
    189. Beasts of the Southern Wild
    190. Kontroll
    191. Dead Ringers
    192. Why Don’t You Play in Hell?
    193. How to Get Ahead in Advertising
    194. Blood Tea and Red String
    195. Taste of Tea, The
    196. Branded to Kill
    197. Waking Life
    198. Phantom of the Paradise
    199. Werckmeister Harmonies
    200. John Dies at the End
    201. Save the Green Planet!
    202. Triplets of Belleville, The
    203. Johnny Got His Gun
    204. Even Dwarfs Started Small
    205. Tingler, The
    206. Zed and Two Noughts, A
    207. Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead
    208. Phantom of Liberty, The
    209. Heavenly Creatures
    210. Waltz with Bashir
    211. If….
    212. Kin-Dza-Dza
    213. Falls, The
    214. Cremator, The [Spalovac Mrtvol]
    215. Survive Style 5+
    216. Nostalghia
    217. Cat Soup
    218. Evil Dead II
    219. Playtime
    220. Titus
    221. Greasy Strangler, The
    222. Crime Wave
    223. Maniac
    224. Pillow Book, The
    225. Hedwig and the Angry Inch
    226. Serious Man, A
    227. Brand Upon the Brain!
    228. American Astronaut, The
    229. Sorry to Bother You
    230. Cemetery Man [Dellamorte Dellamore]
    231. Sweet Movie
    232. Arizona Dream
    233. Forbidden Room, The
    234. Bad Boy Bubby
    235. Pierrot le Fou
    236. Hour of the Wolf [Vargtimmen]
    237. Reflecting Skin, The
    238. Songs from the Second Floor
    239. Destino
    240. Grande Bouffe, La
    241. Zéro de conduite
    242. Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives
    243. Society
    244. Tromeo & Juliet
    245. Blancanieves
    246. Abominable Dr. Phibes, The
    247. Léolo
    248. Ninth Configuration, The
    249. You, the Living [Du Levande]
    250. Lucifer Rising
    251. Blood Freak
    252. Dementia [Daughter of Horror]
    253. Dillinger is Dead
    254. Dog Star Man
    255. No Smoking
    256. Rubin & Ed
    257. Saddest Music in the World, The
    258. Robot Monster
    259. Zazie dans le Metro
    260. Beast, The [La Bête]
    261. Blood Diner
    262. Fellini Satyricon
    263. Night Train to Terror
    264. Double, The
    265. After Last Season
    266. Careful
    267. Alice in Wonderland (1966)
    268. True Stories
    269. Santa and the Ice Cream Bunny
    270. Prospero’s Books
    271. Tokyo Gore Police
    272. Ruling Class, The
    273. Apple, The
    274. Django Kill… If You Live, Shoot!
    275. Doggiewogiez! Poochiewoochiez!
    276. November
    277. Catch-22
    278. Dead Leaves
    279. Page of Madness, A [Kurutta ippêji]
    280. Archangel
    281. Bed Sitting Room, The
    282. Reflections of Evil
    283. Death Laid an Egg [La morte ha fatto l’uovo]
    284. Horrors of Spider Island, the [Ein Toter hing im Netz]
    285. Sweet Sweetback’s Baadasssss Song
    286. Innocence
    287. Face of Another, The
    288. Urusei Yatsura 2: Beautiful Dreamer
    289. Hellzapoppin’
    290. Goodbye Uncle Tom
    291. Beast of Yucca Flats, The
    292. Cowards Bend the Knee, or, the Blue Hands
    293. Roma [AKA Fellini’s Roma]
    294. Boxer’s Omen, The [Mo]
    295. Death by Hanging
    296. Sita Sings the Blues
    297. Gothic
    298. I Will Walk Like a Crazy Horse [J’irai Comme un Cheval Fou]
    299. Der Samurai
    300. Black Cat, The
    301. Malpertuis
    302. Milky Way, The [La Voie Lactee]
    303. Conspirators of Pleasure
    304. L’Immortelle
    305. Testament of Orpheus, The
    306. Final Flesh
    307. Allegro non Troppo
    308. Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors
    309. Silent Hill
    310. Lemonade Joe [Limonádový Joe aneb Konská Opera]
    311. Eden and After
    312. Secret Adventures of Tom Thumb, The
    313. Clean, Shaven
    314. Arise! The SubGenius Movie
    315. Viva la Muerte [Long Live Death]
    316. Marquis
    317. 200 Motels
    318. Never Give a Sucker an Even Break
    319. Lunacy [Sileni]
    320. Legend of Suram Fortress, The [Ambavi Suramis Tsikhitsa]
    321. Nuit Noire [Black Night]
    322. Wax, or the Discovery of Television Among the Bees
    323. Trash Humpers
    324. Godmonster of Indian Flats, The
    325. Mood Indigo
    326. Report on the Party and Guests, A
    327. Tales from the Quadead Zone
    328. Birdboy: The Forgotten Children
    329. Ink
    330. City of Women
    331. Hypothesis of the Stolen Painting, The
    332. Keyhole
    333. Greaser’s Palace
    334. Santa Claus
    335. Skins [Pieles]
    336. Toto the Hero [Toto le Heros]
    337. Institute Benjamenta, or This Dream People Call Human Life
    338. Dark Backward, The
    339. Japanese Summer: Double Suicide
    340. Maelstrom
    341. Thundercrack!
    342. Reality
    343. Nothing but Trouble
    344. Pornographers, The
    345. Singing Ringing Tree, The
    346. Fantasy Mission Force
    347. Christmas on Mars
    348. Telephone Book, The
    349. Help! Help! The Globolinks [Hilfe! Hilfe! Die Globolinks]
    350. Idiots and Angels
    351. Red Squirrel, The [La Ardilla Roja]
    352. Wool 100%
    353. Eisenstein in Guanajuato
    354. Skidoo
    355. Steppenwolf
    356. Tuvalu
    357. L’Inhumaine
    358. I Can See You
    359. Immaculate Conception of Little Dizzle, The
    360. Shanks
    361. Ninja Champion
    362. Hugo the Hippo
    363. Seven Servants
    364. Elevator Movie
    365. Strange Frame: Love & Sax
    366. Indecent Desires

3 thoughts on “MARCH MAD MOVIE MADNESS TOURNAMENT RECAP AND FINAL RANKINGS”

  1. Great job on the tourney! It was a lot of fun coming back to vote trying to help my faves through. Glad to see some surprises so high (Saragossa Manuscript at 29!) and how much quality there still is at 366

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